A R I Y A x G O O G L E
“NISSAN WON THE INTERNET WITH A FOUR-HOUR AD.”
— Fast Company
Production Company
TITMOUSE ANIMATION STUDIOS
“Range anxiety" is a real issue when it comes to people's faith in Electric Vehicles. To demonstrate the extended range of the all-new Nissan ARIYA EV, we went to the place where six-second ads are the norm and created a four-hour lofi ad – the approximate length of a single charge on the Nissan ARIYA EV. With lofi beats and stylized looping animations full of easter eggs, the Nissan Lofi ad seamlessly integrated the Nissan ARIYA EV into the popular Lofi Girl YouTube Channel and provided viewers with an unconventional product demo and relaxing vibes to ease their range anxieties.
If you have 4 hours to kill, here’s the full film.
A R I Y A x T I K T O K
“AAARRRIIIYYYAAA.”
— Anna Faris (House Bunny voice)
Director
The creative team and myself
Using TikTok, we turned ARIYA’s greatest business challenge into the ultimate pronunciation challenge. Designing an AR game called “How Do You Say…” which enlisted thousands of TikTok creators in just a couple of days to turn #HowDoYouSayARIYA into one of the top trending topics. We even tapped celebs with commonly mispronounced names, and had them give a series of pronunciation lessons.
A R I Y A x B R I E L A R S O N / J A Y E L L I S
“IT’S ELECTRIC, WITH AN EDGE.”
— Jay Ellis (Top Gun)
Director
Hanna Maria Heidrich
"Car people" didn't think an EV could meet their needs. The ARIYA introduced them to electric with an edge. This launch was one of Nissan’s biggest launches ever, including TVC, OLVs, targeted charging stations, a massive suite of OOH, custom social, and a celebrity-led pronunciation mini-campaign.
K I C K S x K E N N Y M A S O N
“NEVER THOUGHT I’D HAVE A NISSAN COMMERCIAL ON REPEAT.”
— @altnap
Director
ELIJAH CHAUVIN
The Nissan Kicks features Bose speakers in the headrests, so we leaned in to music culture, and the biggest thing in music and culture last summer was the Kendrick Lamar vs Drake beef. So we decided to create our own diss track, calling out the best features as well as the competition. In one week the track racked up 26.9 M views across TikTok and IG, with very high engagement.
K I C K S x B L K O D Y S S Y
“BLK ODYSSY’S ROAD TO REINVENTION.”
— Rolling Stone
Directors
TARA AQUINO
We also teamed up with BLK ODDYSY to tell his story of reinvention alongside the reinvented Kicks. The social film had very high engagement online with many commenters surprised Nissan was doing such fresh work.
“OUTKAST MASHED UP WITH CAROLE KING JUST CLICKED.”
— DJ Earworm
Directors
Dave Myers & Mia Barnes
The diss track was complimented by two broadcast films shot by music video Legend, Dave Myers and his former assistant Mia Barnes. One showcasing the Bose speakers, one the AWD. As well as audio, print, social, digital, partnerships and events.
S T I N G E R x S U P E R B O W L
“STEVEN TYLER IS FOREVER YOUNG IN KIA SUPER BOWL COMMERCIAL”
— BILLBOARD MAGAZINE
Director
NICOLAI FUGLSLIG
Let's just say the air was sucked out of the room when Kia heard we wanted to shoot their new 365HP Stinger, driving only in reverse.
The spot was featured as Ad of the Day on both Adweek and Creativity with over 17M views on youtube.
And in case you didn't decrypt the arcane message obscured deep inside the realms of the Super Bowl spot, check out the case study below. It was a fun experiment to create and it was shortlisted at Cannes and featured at the Webby Awards.
S O U L x T U R B O
“IT’S THE LITTLEST, WILDEST, CUTEST ONE YET.”
— AdWeek
Director
MATTHIJS VAN HEIJNINGEN
Kia chose to bring a new Soul into the world and this was no ordinary Soul. It was a Turbo Soul. So to announce its arrival, we conceived a newborn baby hamster that was so quick it was impossible to catch.
The spot ran in cinemas nationwide and was selected as Ad of the Day on both Adweek and Creativity.
S O U L x L M F A O
“ONE OF THE TEN MOST INNOVATIVE VIRAL VIDEO ADS OF 2011”
— Mashable
Director
MARK ROMANEK
No arguments here, this thing is pretty ridiculous. That being said, it was really fun to make, I learned a lot from about the CG process and it became a genuine piece of pop-culture as one of the first “viral” ads ever.
The spot garnered over 20 million views on YouTube, was #1 on Mashable's Global Ads Chart, the #16 Most Viewed commercial on YouTube, a Creativity-Online “Pick of the Day,” got parodied on Saturday Night Live and picked up a Silver Clio.
O P T I M A x N B A
“BLAKE GRIFFIN CHANNELS TOP GUN PERSONA, AND TAKES FLIGHT”
— Hypebeast
Director
STACY WALL
As an official sponsor of the NBA, Kia signed Blake Griffin to introduce their new mid-size sedan, the Optima. Blake was known for his amazing skills on the court, but one of his other talents was discovered on set: deadpan humor. In this campaign we let him tap into his inner-Daniel Day-Lewis and get method with it.
The campaign picked up a Silver Clio and was featured on Creativity and Adweek.
Note: I did not produce this campaign. My partner, at the time and I concepted it but had to produce another campaign. Really happy with how it came out. One team one dream baby.
O P T I M A x N E A L B R E N N A N
“JUST SHOW THE CAR!”
— Neal Brennan
Director
NEAL BRENNAN
This project was an exercise in grit and efficiency. We were asked by Kia’s new CMO to concept an introduction video that would play before his speech at the NY Auto Show. The show was a week away and he wanted a celebrity.
Luckily we found a celebrity / director in one, Neal Brennan. He jumped on board and we quickly workshopped the script, casted, scouted, then shot the following Saturday, which was St. Paddy’s Day. Mine and Neal’s Irish Grandfathers watched down from heaven in horror as we worked all day without a single Guiness.
Not the level of polish I typically like but it came together. I can’t help but be proud of it knowing the challenges we faced.
S C R A T C H E R S x H O T S T R E A K
“OLD MINER DISCOVERS HIS MIDAS TOUCH DURING THE GOLD RUSH.”
— The Inspiration Room
Director
ROBERT JITZMARK
California is known for two things: surfing and the Gold Rush. When the California Lottery launched Hot Streak Scratchers we decided to tap in to the latter and dramatize what it feels like to actually go on a hot streak. The spot was shot on film with Panavision lenses and colored at Technicolor, which in and of itself was fun as hell.
S C R A T C H E R S x P R I C E I S R I G H T
“D&G ASKS THE AUDIENCE IN NEW LOTTERY AD.”
— Adweek
Director
BRIAN BILLOW
From Bob Barker to Drew Carey, The Price Is Right has been an iconic staple in pop-culture since 1956. When the California Lottery decided to launch a Scratchers version of the game, there were a few very obvious directions to take the campaign. So we pushed ourselves and landed on the least obvious idea: the audience.
S C R A T C H E R S. x P L A Y B O O K
“LOST IN SCRATCHERS GAMES HE LOSES ALL SENSE OF PLACE.”
— Adweek
Director
NEZ
California Lottery shifted the Scratcher paradigm from a one-off card to a book, something you could get lost in. We partnered with a young visual director who didn't have an extensive commercial reel but had created some of the most-viewed music videos of all time
N O V A R T I S x G A S X
“GREAT ART DIRECTION. HE’S GOING PLACES.”
— Adsoftheworld user (Mom?)
“Relieves Embassment”
“Relieves Embassment”
“Relieves Embassment”
Photographer
PHILIP ROSTRON
Novartis is a giant in the pharmaceutical world and not unexpectedly, quite conservative. At the end of a long boring meeting we pitched something a little more fun. We chose one of their more unique products and sold in this simple, little print campaign which they full-heartedly embraced and even ended up running on billboards.
The campaign did extremely well in market and on the awards circuit, picking up 12 medals at the Art Director’s Show. It was also featured in Lürzer's Archive and several other Canadian award shows.
C A D E N Z A x R E A L V A L E T S
“D&G TURN TO THE REAL LUXURY EXPERTS.”
— AdWeek
Director
JASON GOLDWATCH
Who drives more luxury cars than anyone? A duke? An earl? Kanye. Au contraire. It’s that hotel dude who parks guests’ cars. Valets drive every fancy car under the sun. So we leveraged their expertise to prove that Kia's suavest sedan, the Cadenza, is legit luxury.
The piece was selected as Ad of the Day on both Adweek and Creativity.
C A D E N Z A x C H R I S T I N A H E N D R I X
“CHRISTINA HENDRICKS IS IMPOSSIBLE TO IGNORE.”
— AdWeek
Director
JAKE SCOTT
High-end vehicles are typically associated with older gentlemen, but we were tired of that cliché. So, for the broadcast follow-up to 'The Luxury Experts' we cast another luxury expert, Kristina Hendricks. The spot launched right on the heels of the Presidential election. Kia received a number of letters from appreciative consumers applauding their efforts.